Excess estrogen in birth control pills is the primary vehicle for preventing ovulation and making the body think it has already conceived. But estrogen causes the body to retain water which can give the illusion of weight gain. Water retention occurs when renin-angiotensin, a compound that the kidneys create, is stimulated via excess estrogen circulating throughout the body.
The higher the amount of estrogen in a birth control pill, the more water a woman will retain while taking the pill. Most birth control pills contain between 30 and 50 micrograms of estrogen and will promote higher levels of water retention than pills with lower levels.
For women who are concerned about water retention and weight gain, they can benefit from a low-dose estrogen pill, containing around 20 micrograms of estrogen. Some birth control pills, like Yaz , contain drospirenone, a progestin component.
However, women who have a history of blood clots , high blood pressure, adrenal disease, and take NSAIDS frequently should not take Yaz. Some women are more prone to water retention than others, and birth control can worsen this natural tendency. Once a woman starts her period while on birth control, however, water retention will subside. The birth control shot is designed to last for three months.
As a result, birth control shots can cause the most significant amounts of weight gain from retained water. Women who are already prone to water retention may want to steer clear of birth control shots and go with low-dose estrogen pills, or non-hormonal birth control instead.
Some birth control pills can cause women to feel hungrier than usual, which can lead to excess calorie consumption and weight gain. Unlike water retention, this type of weight gain is much harder to get rid of and is more permanent. It can be incredibly hard to make smart diet choices when a person is experiencing cravings for calorie-dense foods thanks to hormones.
Any weight gain that may occur in the first weeks or months after beginning birth control is typically due to water retention.
One literature review found that study participants gained, on average, fewer than 4. If you gain substantially more than that after starting hormonal birth control, your weight gain is likely caused by something else. Sitting for large segments of your day can lead to weight gain, among other side effects. Are you eating out more than usual? Gradual increases in your calorie intake can lead to weight gain. Monitor your daily calorie consumption with the help of a food tracking app. Depending on your age, your metabolism could be contributing to changes in your weight and energy levels.
As you age, your metabolism can take a nosedive. Are you doing more weightlifting or muscle-building exercises? Increased muscle mass might explain the increase you see on the scale. Your jeans will fit the same as before or better, but the number you see on the scale may go up.
This is often the result of water retention, not actual fat gain. Given time, this water will go away, and your weight should return to normal. Getting frequent exercise and eating a healthy, balanced diet can only benefit you. Adopting a more active lifestyle may help you drop the few pounds you might gain after starting birth control.
However, the same cannot be said for IUD versions that do contain hormones where weight gain is likely in about 5 percent of women who use it. Contraceptive implants and shots that only contain the hormone progestin have been associated with small gains in weight. The birth control implant is a thin plastic rod containing progestin that is inserted into your upper arm. The shot remains the only birth control method with a clear connection to weight gain.
Progestin-only injectable contraceptive methods like Depo-Provera are the most common in the U. A study exploring the effects of the shot followed participants 50 Depo users and 50 people in the control groups between the ages of 18 and 45 for four months. The results indicated significant weight gain amongst Depo-Provera users while the control group did not show a significant change. Weight gain varied between 2 to 30 pounds. Excessive weight gain was observed in 18 percent of Depo-Provera users.
Versions of the shot that contain hormones similar to the ones found in the pill, patch and ring are not associated with weight gain. However, combined shot methods are more common in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Despite countless studies on the topic, no clear evidence of weight gain from hormonal birth control has been found — except for the Depo-Provera shot. So, is the fear of weight gain all in our heads?
The hormone used to be extremely popular with athletes, partly because of its extraordinary muscle-building power, and partly because doping with it was legal until fairly recently. But women produce anabolic hormones too — and the team found that those on the pill had much lower levels of DHEA in their blood. One possibility is that by competing for the same binding sites, the hormone may be blocking signals to grow more muscle.
Just as it has an impact on the proportion of muscle in our bodies, it could be exerting subtle influences on fat — particularly where it is stored in the body. The hormones are also often given to transsexuals for the same reason.
For example, subcutaneous fat — the kind of chub that women carry around their thighs, hips and breasts — contains lots of oestrogen receptors. Some research has borne this out: one early study found that women on pills with higher levels of oestrogen tended to have pear-shaped bodies and more subcutaneous fat , though not necessarily more fat overall. That icky, swollen feeling happens because oestrogen also affects the way the body metabolises water, by influencing the production of certain proteins in the kidneys.
The end result is that the body retains more fluid than it usually would. This then seeps into fat cells, causing them to swell up. Because women tend to store more fat in their breasts, hips and thighs, these areas can expand the most. So while the pill may not be leading to long-term weight gain, some women could still find that their clothes fit differently.
0コメント